Gentrification Strikes Again in Berlin

Renowned Photography Gallery Faces Eviction

The thriving real estate market in the center of Berlin is both a magnet for investors and a curse for cultural centers. The latest victim of the gentrification process is the renowned C/O Berlin gallery, known for showing the works of Annie Leibovitz and other top world photographers.

It’s been many years since Oranienburger Strasse, in the central Berlin district of Mitte, was a hub of underground culture and alternative lifestyles. It has long since morphed into a tourist strip, with the usual mix of generic fashion shops, flashy bars and cheap eateries. But a few centers of culture have tried to hold out amid the encroaching commercialization. Now, however, both C/O Berlin, an internationally renowned photography gallery, and Tacheles, a huge former squat turned art center, face eviction. Gentrification is wiping away the last vestiges of the vibrant post-1989 scene.